Lies and Truths
by DayDreamingMuggle
Summary: Post HBP, summer. Not related to my other fics except for my character Brooke who is the muggle dating George. This presents a problem when George, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione find themselves in Brooke's shop and Voldemort launches an attack. HG & RH
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've decided to write a little fic simultaneously with Life Goes On. This story connects to The Wedding and Life Goes On only in the sense that I use my character Brooke. In no other way does it relate to my other stories, and you don't need to read them. Those who have read my other stories will find that the events of this fic wouldn't fit into my other stories. So read it as a separate entity. I really hope you enjoy it!

Harry stared at the door to The Burrow. Why was it that whenever he was dreading something, he just avoided it? Standing on the porch like this was only drawing attention to the fact that he was coward. Harry Potter was terrified of spending time under the same roof with his ex-girlfriend. The boy who survived attacks from the most powerful Dark wizard in the world five times in his sixteen years was scared of confrontation with a girl about a foot and a half shorter than himself. But anyone who underestimated Ginny Weasley would be sorry. Harry felt a smile creep across his face as he thought of Ginny's infamy as it related to her Bat-Bogey Hex.

The problem was that he did not trust himself to run to her and throw himself at her feet, begging forgiveness. He still cared very deeply for her. Harry drove thoughts of Ginny as he raised his fist to knock on the door that held within it the Weasleys and his best friend Hermione Granger as well. Harry's family. He scowled as he thought of the completely dispassionate—although somewhat jubilant—farewell he had received not an hour ago from the Dursleys as he boarded the Knight Bus, happy to be leaving after only a week and half. Ron and Hermione had wanted to accompany him immediately after Dumbledore's funeral, but Mrs. Weasley had insisted that Harry go alone because he needed time to spend with his family and Hermione should spend some time with hers as well.

But now he was here, and so was Hermione. And Ron. And possibly members of the Order. They would all be preparing for the wedding. Bill's and Fleur's wedding. Harry smiled at the thought of the whole Order coming together for an event so happy after such sadness. But Dumbledore would not be there. His eyes would not twinkle and he would not smile as his former charge married a former contestant in a tournament Dumbledore himself had hosted. Harry felt a knot form in his stomach and he swallowed down the imaginary substance closing off his throat.

Deciding that the longer he stood at the door, the more thoughts he would have. And thoughts were not always good things in Harry's world because with thoughts came regrets and guilt. So, he moved to raise his hand only to find that he already had and it was poised ready to knock. Sighing, Harry did just that.

He had not even completed the first knock when the door opened and he was enveloped in a very tight and momentous hug from what appeared to be a surplus amount of bushy brown hair.

"Hermione, I'm having a rough time breathing," Harry gasped and he heard laughter as Hermione disentangled herself from Harry.

"We wondered if you were ever going to knock on the door," Ron's chuckling form lingered just inside the door, "We were watching from the window," he explained.

"Harry, we were so worried," Hermione said.

"No," Ron corrected, "You were worried, Hermione. I was fine until you ditched our game of wizard chess because all you could concentrate on was Harry outside."

Hermione looked abashed as Harry walked inside, toting his trunk and Hedwig's cage behind him. Harry couldn't help but laugh. He had missed his friend's strange relationship.

He looked around, and the house was strangely silent. It was almost eerie in the Weasley household to have silence. As Harry followed Ron and Hermione into the drawing room, he questioned the lack of noise.

"Where is everyone? It's so quiet."

"Oh," Ron said, "Ginny's upstairs."

At the sound of Ginny's name, Harry felt guilt spread through his system. Shooting for nonchalance he asked, "Why isn't she down here with you? Has she been spending a lot of time in her room?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed and Harry was sure that she knew something was amiss. She could always tell. Female radar or something. Ron, however was completely oblivious and answered Harry's question as he waved his wand to clear away the chessboard that had been abandoned.

"No, she's just run upstairs to clean up after Arnold. Really, she says Pig's annoying. That Pygmy Puff is always getting lost, and it has to be kept separated from Crookshanks at all times. It has a special diet, too. High maintenance, it is. But she hasn't been spending a lot of her time up there. She's been with me and Hermione most of the time."

Hermione looked as though she was about to bring up the very thing Harry didn't want to discuss, so he changed the subject—even though he recognized the significance behind Ginny's spending time with Ron and Hermione but being absent when he arrived.

"I expect your dad's at work, then, but where's your mum?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yeah, Dad's at work, but Mum's outside with George. It's this huge thing," Ron said.

"What is?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Well, George is dating a muggle," Ron said.

Harry could not contain his shock. Not at the fact that George was dating a muggle, but at the fact that it was, as Ron said, a 'huge thing'. The Weasleys seemed the least likely people to care if George dated a muggle. Hermione seemed to be reading his thoughts.

"You see, Harry, George has only been dating her since the New Year and he wants to tell her that he's a wizard. But Mr. and Mrs. Weasley think that it's far too dangerous to tell her now in the event that they break things off, and I have to say I agree," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"You would," Ron said, "What does it matter? He fancies himself in love, doesn't he? So shouldn't he have the right to come out with the truth to the girl he's in love with?"

"It just wouldn't be prudent, Ron," Hermione said.

"You're one to talk about coming out with the truth to the one you love, Ron," Harry muttered to him.

Ron's ears turned bright red, and he said, "I don't know what you mean, Harry," but he did not argue with Hermione, and the bickering match was postponed. Since that had been Harry's aim, he picked up the thread of conversation before that rain check was collected upon.

"So, who is she?" Harry asked.

"A girl named Brooke Harmon. She works down at the paper shop in the village," Hermione answered.

"George took her to lunch today and he stopped here afterward. That's when he told Mum that he wanted to tell her the truth. She forbid him, and they took the argument outside," Ron said, "We never got our lunch," Ron said forlornly.

"Oh, Ron, can you think of anything but your stomach?" Hermione asked with an exasperated grin.

Just then, Harry heard the back door leading in and out from the kitchen slam. George's footsteps moved quickly toward the foyer. Mrs. Weasley's voice could be heard pleading with George.

"George, please don't leave like this."

"Mum, please don't," George's voice was angry, "Just leave me alone right now."

"I don't want you to be angry. I want you to understand."

"Understand what? That I'm being forced to lie to the woman I love. If I don't tell her, Mum, I'll be betraying her. I can't take that, Mum."

"George, listen for a moment. Let me say what you wouldn't hear a minute ago. If you tell her, and she rejects the idea, if she can't handle the idea of you being a wizard, what measures will you have to take?"

Hermione gave out that sounded like a mixture between a small sob and a gasp. Harry and Ron looked at her uncomprehendingly, but George seemed to understand Mrs. Weasley's point as well because he was silent.

"You see, George. I don't want you dealing with that pain. You would remember everything: your feelings, your love for her, and for her none of that would ever have happened."

Because they could not see, Harry did not know what was happening, but there was silence. He supposed that George had nodded because Mrs. Weasley exclaimed,

"Thank you, George. Just make sure that you're willing to spend your life with her, and she you before you tell her. Try to judge her reaction, and if you think it won't go well, then let her go. It's better if she hates you than what you would have to do otherwise."

"Right," George said in a deflated voice that Harry had never heard him use, nor one that he would have imagined could come from him, "I'll see you tomorrow then. We'll be by to help with the wedding. Fred's put our assistant in charge for tomorrow. Bye, then."

With a _crack_, Harry knew George had Disapparated. They listened for a moment and, sure enough, Mrs. Weasley's footsteps moved toward the room. Hermione conjured up the chess set again, and Harry and Ron took their places in front of it, pretending to play. For herself, Hermione conjured a book, and opened to a random page just as Mrs. Weasley walked through the door.

"Oh, Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, and Harry stood up to receive the hug she gave him. Sensing that she needed the comfort, Harry held on tight as she hugged him for much longer than usual before pulling away, "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied.

"Well, you look positively starved, dear. I just have to reheat lunch and it'll be ready in a jiff. So, start making your way into the kitchen. I still have so much to do for the wedding, so I won't be able to eat with you."

"If you need any help, Mrs. Weasley, we'd be glad to," Hermione offered.

"Thanks so much, dear. In fact, I was going to have you, Ron, Harry, and Ginny run into town tomorrow and buy some things. Fleur has decided that she must have certain muggle novelties that she read about in a 'charming muggle magazine'."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione could hear the nerves stretching in Mrs. Weasley's voice, and—even though Harry wanted to yell, 'Not with Ginny!'—they all nodded their assent.

"Very well, then, clean up here, and then come have lunch. I have to call Ginny down."

Mrs. Weasley left the room, and Harry pushed thoughts of Ginny from his head—was there ever a time when he wasn't thinking of her?—to ask Hermione a question.

"Hermione, what was Mrs. Weasley talking about? What would George have to do to Brooke if she decided she couldn't take his being a wizard?"

Hermione looked visibly upset as she answered, "He would have to modify her memory. Completely erase himself from it. Can you imagine how terrible it would be to be in love only to have to take all memory of yourself out of the mind of the person you love?"

Harry saw what Ron didn't—as he was cleaning up the chess set for a second time. Hermione was watching Ron as she gave the explanation.

"Just horrible," Hermione whispered.

"Better that than to have her hate him, though isn't it?" Ron asked.

"Ron, really, would you rather the person you love have no memory of you at all or have them dislike you for a time and then remember some of the good times as well? Any memory at all is a good one," Hermione said, her voice cracking.

Shaking his head, Harry wondered if he would rather Ginny have no recollection of him at all rather than the hatred she no doubt felt. No, he decided, Hermione was right. He didn't think he could live with the idea that Ginny wouldn't even remember the good times.

He stood up then saying, "I suppose we should go eat."

Hermione and Ron nodded. Hermione looked so upset about the whole conversation that Ron put a hand on her arm and said comfortingly, "Hermione, don't worry. It'll turn out fine. You'll see."

Hermione looked comforted at Ron's touch and smiled wanly. They moved through the entry way toward the kitchen. Harry realized suddenly that the moment he was dreading was imminent as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small red-headed form gliding down the stairs. Ron and Hermione greeted Ginny with smiles. She did not answer out loud. Harry could not see her, and he did not know I she had given any type of acknowledgment. He knew that he would not be able to move through the Burrow for the next couple of days leading to the wedding with his back to Ginny. So he turned in time to see her set foot at the bottom of the stairs, her face blank. And he waited for her reaction.

A/N: Ok, that's the first chapter. So, what did you think? Please, please review! I have so much planned, and I'd like to know if anyone is interested enough to keep reading. PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello to all. I realize that this fic is not nearly as wide-read as my other, but I'm looking forward to this one so much. I get to write what I love best: putting my favorite characters together. Anyhow, there has been some confusion as to the timeline of this fic. It is important for me to tell you that this fic is NOT in any way affiliated with "The Wedding" or "Life Goes On." I simply fell in love with the character I created—Brooke—and wanted to use her in this fic as well. So, that being said, on with the chapter!

Harry waited. Would she completely snub him? Not even give him eye contact? Perhaps she would be cold and distant. He knew in his mind that it wouldn't be like Ginny to be uncivil. But, what did he know, really? He had never fathomed that they would break up, so how could he have known how she would react.

But, Ginny walked towards them with a bright smile on her face. And she gave Harry a hug saying, "Harry, I'm so glad you got here safely!"

Harry didn't know how to react. This was not the hug he was used to. Nor the chipper attitude. It wasn't simply that he hadn't expected any sort of pleasant reaction; it was that he knew that Ginny was putting on a show. This was false happiness. Hermione seemed to be able to tell, but Ron was oblivious.

Ginny released him, apparently not requiring a response to her perky greeting, and turned to Ron and Hermione as well as Harry saying, "So, what happened with George? I could hear some of it from upstairs, but I missed the important parts. Oh, you know what, wait until after lunch to tell me. I don't think Mum'll want to talk about it again, so I suppose it should wait. I'm starving, aren't you? I guess we should get in there."

She said all of this very fast with a bright smile and a cheery tone. Harry saw right through it, and it cut him deeper than any blatant disdain would have. Ginny pranced into the kitchen leaving Harry stunned in her wake. Hermione glared at Harry as though she knew exactly what was going on. Ron just chuckled.

"She's been like that all summer. She's on full speed all the time now. Good luck with that, mate," Ron said, shrugging it off and following his sister into the kitchen.

Hermione turned to Harry with a hard glint in her eye, "She won't tell me what's wrong, Harry, but I'll bet anything I can guess. Now's not the time, but believe me, we will be talking about this."

And, turning on her heel, she walked into the kitchen. Harry was left standing alone and feeling just as such. So alone. How could he make them understand that his reasons for breaking up with Ginny were sound? He shrugged it off and went to join his friends at lunch. He just hoped he could get through the day with Ginny's mock exuberance mocking him at every turn.

The day passed in a slow crawl. As Harry crawled into the camp bed in Ron's room, he thought that if he had to endure one more minute of Ginny's squeaky new personality and one more second of glares from Hermione, he would just have to leap from the nearest cliff. He sighed and thought that at least Ron seemed to have no idea that anything was wrong. Tomorrow, he, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Fred and George were headed into the village to pick up a few things. Fred and George had decided to tag along under the pretense of helping, but they all knew George was going to see Brooke and that Fred was going along for moral support, or whatever it was that the twins offered one another by their mere presence.

Harry lay down, but did not sleep for some time as images of Ginny filled his head.

"All right, you have the list, right? The list? You six! Do you have the list? Honestly, it's like talking to a brick wall!"

"I have it, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione finally answered Mrs. Weasley's strained questions. It was, after all, the day before the wedding, and Fleur was lurking about causing trouble and making Mrs. Weasley much more irritable than usual. All in all, the group was glad to be getting out of the house.

They set on their way with warnings from Mrs. Weasley to be careful. She had many reservations about sending them all out in these dangerous times, but Fred, George, Hermione, and Ron were all Of Age, and they could defend them all if the need arose.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were walking a few steps behind Fred and George. They were listening to Ginny's jubilant retelling of a letter she'd received from Luna the day before detailing how Luna and her father were still on their excursion searching for something called a Cluckstoppis. They did not ask any questions, as they did not really want to know about the Cluckstoppis, but Harry was increasingly disturbed by Ginny's tone. After she had finished, she gave a giggle, and moved up to talk to Fred and George.

Harry was surprised to look at Ron and see him watching Harry through narrowed eyes. He had expected this from Hermione, but not from Ron.

"What?" Harry asked, flabbergasted

"She's awfully happy. What've you two been up to that she's this happy?" Ron asked.

Harry would have laughed at Ron's incorrect assumptions except that it hurt him to think that he was, indeed, the cause of the "new" Ginny. Before he could answer, however, Hermione had jumped in.

"Oh, honestly, Ron, wake up!" she said bitterly.

"What?" Ron asked, confused.

"Don't you see? Harry and Ginny aren't even together anymore. He broke up with her. That's why she's acting this way. She isn't really happy. This is all fake, Ron!"

Harry glared at her. He had not wanted Ron to find out this way, but upon further reflection, he thought that he really did not want him to know at all. It didn't matter, though. He had not wanted Hermione to be the one to tell him.

"What?" Ron was dazed.

"Yeah, I did break things off with her," Harry said, "But I did it to protect her!"

"Please, Harry!" Hermione said, "I know you think you're protecting her, but look what she's been forced to become!"

"Listen, can we wait till we get home to talk about this?" Ron managed, looking a bit pale.

"Yeah, let's wait a bit," Harry groped at the chance to think through what he would say.

"Let's just forget it for now, and we'll bring it up again later," Ron said.

Harry thought this was a brilliant idea. Hermione did not seem to agree, but for Ron's sake—or so it would seem as she looked concerned at his lack of color—she nodded.

The walk into the village was silent and uneasy so when George invited them all to come and meet Brooke, they all seized on the opportunity.

"Just don't say anything about magic, or I'll find a way to slip some Choking Chocolate to you," George said.

"Ooh," Fred said, "That stuff is not fun. It isn't fatal. Just gives the one eating it a bit of a scare."

Harry made a mental note not to accept anything ever again from Fred and George. The six of them entered the small paper shop where Brooke worked. There was no one else there, and so Brooke came around the desk smiling.

She was very pretty with long, straight brown hair and blue eyes. She wasn't tall, but seemed to command almost a regal air. Her smile made her look so kind and approachable that Harry instantly liked her.

"George!" she exclaimed, "Fred!"

She walked to George, giving him a hug, and turned to Fred, "Why aren't you two working today?"

Harry knew that Brooke was aware that Fred and George owned a joke shop. She obviously did not know that it was a magical joke shop located in Diagon Alley. Brooke waved off the answer saying, "You know what, I don't want to know. You're probably up to something. I just hope I'm not the target of whatever you're scheming."

George feigned a shocked expression, "There are no words!"

Fred smiled, "Let me help you out here, brother. She's accusing us of a crime that we would never even consider committing. Do you see what you've done to him, Brooke? There are no words. He has no words! Has that ever happened before?"

"No," she admitted, laughing, "I'm quite enjoying it, actually. Now, Fred, since my boyfriend appears to be mercifully mute at the moment, you can introduce me to the small army that's walked into my shop."

George gave her a playful squeeze as Fred began introductions.

"Right, now, all the ones with red hair are related to us. That's our baby sister, Ginny, and that's our younger brother Ron. That's Ron's friend Hermione and his friend Harry who, incidentally, is also dating Ginny."

Harry's stomach dropped. He had thought he might get through the day without thinking about this again.

"Actually," Harry said, "Ginny and I—I mean, we aren't together anymore."

Ginny's happy demeanor dissipated and Fred and George looked shocked.

"Uh oh," Brooke said, "Looks like you stepped into some drama there, Fred. Listen, it's nice to meet you all, no matter who is or is not dating one another."

Ginny managed a small smile. Harry thought that at least, now, she would drop the falsely chipper attitude. Hermione looked worried about Ginny, but smiled at Brooke nonetheless.

Fred and George still looked as though they wanted to talk about the whole thing, but Brooke gave George a significant look and he said nothing. This did not stop Fred however, "Why?" he asked.

"Fred, stop," Ginny said so quietly that Harry almost didn't hear her. It was this quiet voice, more than anything, that stopped Fred. He nodded, but Harry knew he would have to face interrogations from the twins, Ron, and Hermione. For now, however, he was saved.

"So, where do you all go to school?" Brooke asked. George stiffened.

They had already reached the unanswerable questions.

"Oh, they're at our old alma mater," Fred said.

"The boarding school you and George went to?" Brooke looked puzzled, "I thought that was an all-boys school."

"Did George say that?" Fred showed no signs of visible panic, "He lied. I'm sure he wanted you to think that he'd never looked at another girl before you. Where the truth is that he looked, but until you, no one had the brain damage to look back."

Brooke laughed, "Your words are so endearing, Fred. George, your brother believes me to be brain damaged."

She was laughing loudly when all of a sudden a feeling of intense panic reached Harry. No one else seemed to feel it, but as he saw the owl flying through the door of the shop, he knew it bore bad news. It was Errol, and he was carrying a letter. Harry caught Fred's eye, and he attempted to distract Brooke. It worked until, just as Errol flew through the door, it slammed shut behind him. They all turned to stare at the door, and as Harry subtly pulled the letter from Errol's leg, he pulled on the door only to find his worst fear confirmed. They were all locked inside.

A/N: Why are they locked in, and how will George continue to hide his true identity from Brooke if owls are appearing delivering letters? Please review if you want to find out! REVIEWS!


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